Moscow strongly WARNS West against risky ideas of using force in Venezuela

Members of the Bolivarian Militia take part in a military parade to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the return of the late President Hugo Chavez to power after a failed coup d' etat, at the National Heroes Avenue in Caracas on April 13, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / FEDERICO PARRA (Photo credit should read FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images)

MOSCOW, Russia – Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has stated that Russia strongly warns the West against risky ideas of pushing forward a scenario of force in Venezuela.

For the Russian Deputy FM, “a destructive external intervention, especially a military intervention in Venezuelan internal affairs is the worst of all possible scenarios.”

“It is difficult to predict its consequences, but it is clear that the hypothetical use of force in this situation will lead to a wave of bloodshed that would have consequences outside of Venezuela,” Ryabkov said.

According to the Russian diplomat, military intervention in Venezuela’s internal affairs is the worst case scenario and its consequences will affect not only Venezuela but also other countries.

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“I emphasize that we did not want to make such predictions, we only once again give a serious warning against such adventurous ideas if they exist among some responsible politicians in the Western Hemisphere,” the deputy minister said.

In addition, Russia is concerned that the participants in the contact group for Venezuela do not appear to be paying any attention to the internal dialogue in the country during the meeting in Uruguay.

“We are concerned that, according to the information received, less attention has been paid during this event than was previously expected, when only Mexico and Uruguay had such initiative on the subject of dialogue on the subject of internal reconciliation of Venezuela,” Ryabkov explained.

The Venezuelan political crisis worsened on January 23, after Venezuelan National Assembly chief Juan Guaidó was declared interim president of the country during anti-government protests in the streets of Caracas. President Nicolas Maduro has accused Washington of orchestrating a coup in Venezuela, calling Guaidó a “US puppet.”

The opposition leader has been backed by the US and some other countries. Russia, China, Mexico and Turkey are among the nations that express their support for Maduro as the country’s legitimately elected head of state.

Paul Antonopoulos is a Research Fellow at the Center for Syncretic Studies. He has an MA in International Relations and is interested in Great Power Rivalry as well as the International Relations and Political Economy of the Middle East and Latin America.